Cafe Conversations
by YuniX-2
Summary: Helga and Arnold have an important conversation after running into each other six years after high school. Oneshot. Link to special bonus feature inside.


A/N: Okay, this is pretty much a crap, permanently unfinished plot bunny that I've barely developed, and there's really only one reason I'm bothering to post it. I made an HA! Music video a while ago but no one seems to be watching it on youtube, so basically I just wanted to post something so I could shamelessly plug my video. It's to the song Stalker by Goldfinger, and I will love you forever if you check it out and leave a review. And yes, it's not on my normal youtube account, but I made a separate account to post this video because I have certain cosplay friends that I know would become really annoying if they knew that I made this.

Take the spaces out of the link: www . youtube . com / watch?v=W5gj7oKtCq8

Anyways, as far as the fic goes, it's basically the sort of conversation I think a lot of us imagine having with past crushes of ours, just for the sake of closure. Enjoy what there is!

Disclaimer: Yes.

Café Conversations

Arnold and Helga sat together at a small café down the street from their office building. It had become a habit of theirs to share lunch breaks since they discovered that they happened to work in the same office building two weeks ago. Two weeks ago, or six years to the day since they had seen each other last – although neither of them knew that.

They talked about plenty of things, from what colleges they had ended up going to after highschool to what jobs they held now and everything that had happened in between. Today though, it seemed they had finally run out of things to catch up on, and their conversation took a dramatic turn towards the distant past.

It started because Arnold looked up from his plate at a lull in the conversation and said exactly what he was thinking.

"You sure have changed Helga."

She looked at him strangely for a moment and then burst into laughter. "I haven't changed at all Football Head."

"Sure you have," he insisted. "Back in highschool we never could have sit down and had a conversation like this. You would have insulted me for even asking, called me a yutz, shoved me out of the way, and stalked off to talk with Phoebe."

She laughed again. "Well, maybe I've changed a little, but I think it's more a matter of circumstance than anything else."

"What do you mean?"

"I'd probably act exactly the same if I still had to worry that I'd be made a public mockery of just for having feelings other than anger."

Arnold's jaw dropped. "_That's_ why you were always so mean to everyone?"

"That's not the _only_ reason! But I guess it was the main one," she admitted.

"Helga, no one would have made fun of you for that! I mean, _everyone_ has feelings, they couldn't have very well laughed at you for feelings they had themselves."

She snarled a little and leaned across the table.

"But I didn't just have feelings Football Head! My feelings were special."

He raised a skeptical eyebrow. "Special?"

She sighed, and suddenly seemed to become very nervous, rubbing her arm the same way she had as a child. "There was... this guy."

Arnold's eyes widened in understanding. "A crush."

"Not just a crush. A huge crush. A monstrous crush. I liked this guy grade school. I practically stalked him sometimes, even." Helga couldn't believe she was saying these things to the man himself – but in a way it felt like a relief. These feelings would finally be off her chest, and then maybe she could move on.

"Wow... Why didn't you just tell him? Privately, I mean."

"I couldn't have done that! He would have let me down and looked at me with such _pity_. I think I could have handled it better if he were the sort to laugh in my face! He was the only thing I had going for me in my life at that time. If he had flat out told me he wasn't interested then, I think I would have just died."

"You don't know that he would have rejected you."

Helga laughed scathingly. "Of _course_ he would have! I was a nightmare to him. Anything to keep people from knowing how I felt – I'd throw spitwads at him, call him names, yell at him for no reason, trip him, shove him. I even glued feathers to his butt one time."

As Helga listed all the nasty things she had done to the boy she'd loved, Arnold was slowly putting the pieces together. She could see his eyes getting wider and wider with each item she added to the list. Arnold thought he must be crazy at first, but he nearly spit out the red bell pepper he was chewing on when she mentioned the feathers.

Seeing that Arnold had finally put the pieces together Helga sighed, and figured she may as well be straight with him. _'Cat's out of the bag now.'_

"You were such an idiot."

Arnold swallowed hard. "Helga... are you saying what I think you're saying?"

Though her eyes were gazing off to the side, she sighed and nodded. Arnold made a strangled noise like a choke.

When Helga turned to see if he was ok it took all of her self control not to laugh at how red his face was getting. It felt nice to have the shoe on the other foot for once. For the first time it seemed like Helga held the power in their relationship – and she liked it.

The café was suddenly far too hot for Arnold. He tugged on his shirt collar to get some air. It was kind of a hard adjustment to make – realizing that everything you'd ever thought a person had felt for you was entirely and completely wrong.

"Um... Helga..." Suddenly realizing what he must be about to say, she cut him off.

"Hey, relax. It's not like I still have feelings for you or anything." Which wasn't entirely true. She still melted whenever she saw someone who looked like him, or heard someone with a similar voice. But she was much, much better than she once had been. And that ship had sailed long ago – she knew she had no chance with him, and didn't want to make him uncomfortable.

"Oh," Arnold said, breathing a sigh of relief, though he felt strangely disappointed. "Right, I guess wouldn't be saying these things if you still had any feeling for me, huh?"

"Spot on Hair Boy" she lied.

Just then the waiter came with their check, and Arnold looked at his watch.

"Oh man, it's almost one thirty."

"Shit, seriously? My boss is gonna kill me!"

"We should really get back."

"Yeah."

With that they paid their check, ran back to the office, and each set about the rest of their day. From then on, both of their worlds seemed a little brighter.

* * *

A/N: So yeah, that's what I got. I'm not gonna extend it any further, because the dialogue is really what's important to me about this piece, and what happens afterward is kind of irrelevant. For the record though, it could go either way (friendship or romance).


End file.
